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H20, fish out of water (preview)

pairing: jj x fem!mermaid!reader

summary: in a turn of events, jj maybank almost drowned one summer, but thanks to a beautiful (and mystical) creature, he was saved. after obsessing over it for weeks, he returns during another storm in order to find her.

word count: 1.2K *headcanon preview for upcoming fic

warnings: mentions/description of drowning

loosely inspired by "the little mermaid"

enjoy ❤

jj doesn't really believe in the "fanatical" stuff

not really his fault because of his father's abuse and his mother's departure when he was kid

fairytales only disappointed him because he didn't have the kind parents that died or the ones that kept searching for their children even when they're supposed to be dead

heck even king triton loved ariel enough to keep her from what he deemed dangerous. what he would have given for his father to do the same, even if it hurt.

although his mom tried to keep the magic for him, by the time he was in the second or third grade, the tooth fairy, santa claus, the easter bunny, elves, tinkerbell and fairy godmother had been deemed childish and impossible to actually exist

how could it?

magic didn't exist

neither did these fanatical creatures

oh and mermaids as well

he scoffed at the thought

how could humans have evolved so much or even born with fins for feet? and breath underwater? or speak to sea creatures. he's seen the mermaid tale movie so he had a good idea of what people thought about mermaids

being from OBX and coming from a long line of fisherman, he's heard the stories

so many stories

they were beautiful

they were ugly

they tried to call them out to sea to wreck the ships

they were the most kind creatures to ever exist

they never wanted to be seen

they only greet the kindest of souls out to sea

so many stories

it almost made his head hurt

his grandfather, granddad maybank, when he was alive, once told five year old jj that he saw a mermaid once.

she was beautiful

long curly hair that was cherry red with streaks of caramel through them. her face was pointed, but with a rosy glow. she had pink lips and an incredible voice

he saw he only saw her because she tried stealing something off the boat - a wrench

he never got to speak with her or anything

he never even saw her again

but sometimes he said he heard her singing

jj, later on, decided that the old man had a screw loose and that he didn't see crap

so yeah jj's not much a believer in mythical things

so one day, jj decided to go surfing during a storm. because why the hell not?

he'd been waiting since the beginning of a summer for a good storm

to face the dangerous of the soaring winds and waves, letting it splash on his face and cover his body enough that he'll shake from the cold when he gets out

he didn't even tell John B that he was going because he wanted to do it alone

if there was one thing that jj loved, daring danger by himself

(and with others, but hey sometimes he liked to rough it out alone)

he ran off the beach and into the waves, surfing like his life depended on it

the exhilaration

the freedom

the adrenaline

he wasn't anyone

he was just jj maybank

unfortunately, he got so lost in himself that he didn't notice the monster wave heading towards him. by the time he turned his head, it pushed him off his board and into the sea

he pushed himself up, trying to get above water, but with each effort, he is pushed down by the waves

his shortboard is gone, drifted and carried by the waves, never to be seen again

he has nothing to grab onto as he flails around

that's when water begins to fill his mouth

and his nose and his throat

in a last moment to save himself, he was able to capture one gasp of breath before going under the waves

compared to the surface, it was calm under the water, but pitch black. he tried to swim as hard as he could towards what he thought was land, but to avail.

water bubbles began to form as he let go of air, inch by inch before it began to fill his lungs with unimaginable pain

it was something similar to letting water go down the wrong pipe and feeling the burn of your lungs

except there was no relief

just his body beginning to shut down as his eyes began to close - his arms and legs gave out as he floated in the dead calmness of the depths of the sea

jj couldn't believe it. he thought he'd die in a shoot out with the police or by the hands of his own father or in some cool way that would give him a rep of a rebel for life -- forever eternalized in the OBX

but drowning?

now that's embarrassing

but he never got to say goodbye, not to pope, not to john b (heck even kiara who was in her "kook" year and he couldn't give a shit about her at the moment)

what if they never found his body? he just ran away? he'd never abandon them like that. no, jj had a loyalty that was rare to find

he thought of their faces as his eyes began to finally close

and he swore that he hallucinated at the last moment

because he saw something he never thought he would

there was body (a tail?) and hands, soft hands that held onto his face

it was blurred but there was a face in front of his - hair floating around it before it swam around him and pulled him upwards

by then, sleep took over his body and he slumped into the arms, waiting for his soul to leave him

if he had one anyways

next thing he knows, he's coughing

violently coughing

it burns, but as he finished and lets out a sigh of his first breath of air, he opens his eyes in time to see a shadow over him

it was a face

so beautiful it almost shocked him awake, but his body was too tired

wet hair covered her face and her eyes were wide and curious; it was all blurry, however

something alike to a hand went up to touch his cheek, dragging what he believed to be a finger to his jaw, his chin, dragging along his lips, to his nose, forehead and then tangling a strand of his hair around it

and then he heard it

her singing

as if lulling him to sleep

smooth and lovely

and then his eyes closed

and when he opened them, it wasn't a girl

he nearly kissed john b though

"woahhhh there buddy. i'm flattered but i don't think either of us play for both teams"

jj nearly gagged when he realized what he had done

"dude, i nearly called the cops," john b smacked the side of his head, "you've been gone for the entire night and i found you passed out here. how'd you even end up here?"

and jj had no choice but to tell him what he did

john b nearly killed him, but felt like maybe jj did that already because of how he began to talk

"dude there was girl! an actual girl. she saved me."

jj wasn't about to forget her, not at all

thedarlinglore: this is a preview for upcoming fic! should be coming up in the next few days! please do not steal, plagiarize, etc. and once again, thank you mr.maybank. love you my darlings ❤